What does it cost to strip and refinish a floor in a commercial office building?
This is always going to be the number one question building managers and owners ask when they contact us for service. How much does this service cost? The answer is pricing can vary from .30 cents a square foot up to $2 a square. In this blog we will go over some of the variables for the large difference.
Here are some of the variables we look for during an inspection and estimate:
- Business objectives
- Condition of floor
- How soon
- Day/Time
- Furniture moving
- Amount of shine a client wants
- General air flow of the area
- Number of areas and how close
Business Objective
Business objective- First question is what the business objective is, why is the manager performing this. Might seem like an odd first question but sometimes a client plans on replacing the floor next year anyway and doesn’t need to spend a lot of money.
On the other hand, a business may have just spent $10’s of thousands of dollars on installing a new floor and want to keep it looking it’s best.
One other common occurrence is moving in/out of office space
Condition of Floor
Condition of Floor– this can include if the floor finish has been upkept regularly, amount of floor finish currently on and age of the tile floor. Asbestos tile is another question to be on the lookout for in older buildings, we have to be really careful in those situations and not create any airborne dust.
Also common is after cubicles, cabinets or shelving has been moved after many years. These conditions need to be removed manually often and can really add to labor cost.
Scheduling Day/Time
Day/Time– How soon the service needs to be completed and overall access. Businesses operate during all kinds of hours and days; some might only be able to complete a project during a specific time and day.
Furniture Moving
Furniture Moving– This is the easiest way for a building manager to save money. Moving furniture is very labor intensive and can add 20-30% of the cost. Not only do we need to move furniture back/forth but also have to wait for the last layer of floor finish to dry before putting furniture back.
If a client decides to move furniture themselves, they can expect to save a decent amount of money.
How Shiny of a Look- Gloss/Matte
How Shiny of Floor– For a higher gloss look or “shiny” floor, we need to add multiple layers of floor finish and use higher solid floor finishes which are more expensive. Not only is this additional material cost but adding time and labor cost.
Number of Areas To Be Stripped & Refinished
Number of Areas– this is one of the biggest variables to cost, one area is very productive but if a manager needs 10 small areas all spread out throughout the building, this is very unproductive and the square foot rate goes up sharply.
All the time it takes moving floor cleaning equipment area to area adds to labor cost.
This was a brief rundown of how much floor stripping costs in a commercial office building.
